Birthday in HK ☂ Michelin One Star Dimsum ^^

Sham Shui Po (深水埗), a name that is so familiar yet so strange. Probably heard it enough times in those TVB dramas but not a place very popular to foreign tourists.

It was only a few stations away from Mongkok, and my first impression of Sham Shui Po is "old town". You know, a place once very developed and vibrant yet decaying over time.

There is a street market and because it was near CNY when we visited that place, most of the shops are selling CNY decorations. Interesting? Nah, not really but I don't mind having a peep at where locals shopped.

We passed by this shop where the uncle was sitting at the glass display of his shop like a live performance, showing off his awesome skills of wrapping dumplings!

He made really cute dumplings in this shape of yuan bao (gold ingot)! See super cute!!!

Anyway, after so much nonsense I still haven't touch the main topic of this post. Yes, what brought us here to Sham Shui Po was... F.O.O.D :D

If you've researched about Hong Kong "must eat" list before, this name shouldn't come a surprise. It's the famous "most affordable Michelin one-star" restaurant- Tian Hao Yun Dimsum!

The main shop is in Mongkok but we read about the horrendous queue from early morning and since we don't have much time to waste, we decided to go try it out in their newer branch in Sham Shui Po.

With a google map in hand, it wasn't hard to find this place. What more with its GIGANTIC signboard. Seriously the biggest signboard I've ever chance upon!

The shop doesn't have an attractive exterior. Even the signboard is a plain green writing over white background. We were lucky because there was no crowd when we reached (more people flocked in when we were to leave, phew~).

I really like how they printed their Top 10 food on the disposable place mat, making it really easy for us to order.

The shop is relatively new, and everything is bright and clean. Just like most HK restaurants, they have really fast and efficient services. Great for people who has no patience like me!

It didn't take us long to decide what to eat.

#1 Char Siew Buns (酥皮焗叉烧包)

This is highly recommended online and personally I LOVE this to bits. Sweetened bun (something like polo buns) with a slight crisp, filled with really nice char siew... ooo... Me likey! But my friend said this is a bit too sweet for her liking. I guess it all depends on your taste.

#2 Teowchew style dumplings (潮州蒸粉果)

It's something like our Chai Kuey (菜糕) but the fillings are slightly different. I am not a huge fan of this but tasted really not bad too.

#3 Luminous Har Kow (晶莹鲜虾饺)

Oh I love prawns. I have to say they are really really generous with their ingredients. Big, springy, chewy, fresh prawns wrapped in thin dough, what more can I ask for? Yummy yummy!

#4 Prawn fillings Siew Mai King (鲜虾烧卖皇)

We both agreed this is the BEST dish among all. Really flawless dish. I don't know how to describe food but really this is the best best best ever siew mai I've ever tasted. Delicious is an understatement, must try!

#5 Fried Carrot Cake (煎腊味萝卜糕)

This is of a slight disappointment. I don't know but we both think this is not good at all. A bit oily, slightly burnt... but ok lar, edible hahaha. We finished it after all.

#6 Kwai Fah Koh (纪子桂花糕)

This is probably in the dessert category. Slightly chilled jelly made with tea tree olive petals. Love the fragrant that stays in the mouth after eating.

Overall, I would say they serve really wonderful dimsum at reasonable prices. Surprised to see that they are quite affordable even for our Malaysian standards!

Birthday in HK ☂ Tsui Wah Restaurant

Tsui Wah Restaurant is one of the famous char chan teng (茶餐厅) chain in Hong Kong. Before the trip, I've did some research on local food and this is among the highly recommended places.

They actually have branches all over Hong Kong and we found one within walking distance from our hotel in Tsuen Wan. It's hard to miss it because of the vibrant and colorful entrance.

The interior of Tsui Wah in Tsuen Wan is clean, bright and new. The restaurant is open 24 hours and the service is really fast and surprisingly quite friendly too!

What to eat for dinner? We were famished by that time, and tired too from the whole day walking (and rain).

I think mamak stalls here should start to adapt the culture of letting their customers add sugar on their own. The "kurang manis" never works!

My friend ordered lemon tea, which I didn't try but I guess it's quite a standard drink.

Of course I must try their signature simut milk tea (奶茶) and I have to give two thumbs up for this! The tea is really as smooth as silk, love the texture and the rich taste of tea minus the bitter. Oh, and it was served in this really cute cup!!!

As for food, we decided to order from their Top 10 list as stated in their website.

The famous Butter Piggy Bun (奶油猪仔包). It's actually a very simple toast bun, covered with butter and sweetened condensed milk. But to make it so crispy and soft, I think it deserves a compliment. Me like!

Fishball Hor Fun (鱼蛋河粉) is so-called a Teochew style kuey teow. The clear soup base is ok, not really awesome but the fishballs (a few different kinds) are really nice! Super springy and chewy. Oh yummy!!!

As usual we shared our food. So we decided to order another side. My friend is a huge fan of chicken wings so we decided to give their Sweet Sauce Chicken Wings (瑞士鸡翼) a try.

The taste was actually ok but when it was served cold *sweat* I am not sure if that is how it should be or did the restaurant put them there for too long before bringing them to our table. However, I have to say, cold chicken wings are... bleah. Hahaha.

That's all for this post. I think Tsui Wah is worth exploring for tourists who wanted to try some local food. The price was reasonable too (in Hong Kong standard, of course).

Next post I shall share more about food. Ya, the whole trip's focus is on food, I realized. Hahaha. What to do? We are gluttons :P

Birthday in HK ☂ Magical Day in Magical Land

Not my first time to Hong Kong Disneyland, but it still excites me very much. Guess the little kid in me is still very much there :)

After the awesome breakfast at the hotel, we boarded the free shuttle back to the theme park, perfect timing! Whee~~~ Welcome to the magical land!

I think many has been to HongKong Disneyland, or at least read about it. I won't be providing much information in this post, just sharing loads and loads of camwhoring photos of myself (again, my friend is to remain anonymous) until you puke by the sight of my face LOL.

I don't know how to explain this, but I think Disneyland is really a wonderful place. Once you enter the park, there are happy Disney songs serenading you all day long. Everything is bright and cheerful, everyone is happy and nice. How to not fall in love crazily with this place?

It was my birthday so I went to the office at the Main Street U.S.A. to get myself the birthday tag. Err, ok the tag has no use except that everyone will know it's your birthday and will wish you Happy Birthday.

Other than that, it's just a useless brooch. No priority, no special treatment. Hahaha.

Err, happy band playing happy music :D

Actually I dreaded writing this post. There's so much to share about Disneyland yet, I don't know how and where to start. It's just a mess of happy memories I have... So I shall jumble up everything and write a junk piece as I wish instead :P

One thing one shall not miss is picture time with the Disney characters!

You can imagine my excitement when I saw Donald and Daisy standing there! My favorite Disney character, Donald Duck! Hehehehe. But sad though, I wasn't ready and they already snapped my pics and shooed me away :(

We basically didn't miss out any photo opportunity with the characters there!

Kudos to the characters in Disneyland, really really professional and playing their roles. They are bubbly and fun, and portraying the traits of their characters. And among all, I have to say this Pooh is really... cute!

He's so active and cheeky.When he saw my birthday tag he dragged me near the queue waiting to take pics with him and made everyone sing the birthday song for me. Awww *hugs* super cute!

There are 5 main "lands" in Disneyland and we randomly hopped around. So here are some pics from Tomorrowland.

Basically we didn't do much there except to go for the Space Mountain ride. It was quite fun actually, I like how the laser lights create the space-feel. My friend however, without her glasses, didn't really see anything hahahaha.

Fantasy Land is my favorite! It's dreamy and cutesy, and oh-so-fairytale. And of course a customary photo with the castle :) Actually I have more than a dozen of photos here hahaha.

Really like the colorful place. Everywhere is so pretty and perfect for photographs. And I have to yell: I seriously HATE those rude China people!!!

They never wait for their turns and would rush in from no where to spoil your nice photo! Horrible! And don't get me started with the cutting queues and pushing people and being ultra noisy :( Bah!

The highlight of this visit for me is of course to visit the newly opened Toy Story Land!

It's really a nice place. All the toys and stuff are gigantic and colorful, making me feel like I've shrunk or had entered a giant world. So nice! Love it there.

Woody!!!

The weather was gloomy that day, with intermittent drizzles so there's no nice blue sky and bright sun. But luckily everything still look pretty in photo.

We didn't go for any rides but spent our time exploring the place and taking photos around (while skilfully avoiding the rude China people!).

So many cute things to remind me of childhood times. Aww... So cute so cute so cute I can die *faint*

I think I looked genuinely happy in all the Disneyland photos! Really thankful to my friend who always managed to help me capture nice photos that I look really happy in. I guess, I am always really happy when I am with her *hugs dearie* :)

We were a little wet and tired by that time so we decided we shall go to whichever restaurant that came to our sight (and has empty spaces for us to sit cos it was raining and all the restaurants were flocked with diners).

Ended up in this place in Adventure Land. Forgot the name. We ordered a dish each and immediately regretted when we were served cos the portion was HUGE!

Here's a photo of me looking a little tired (and probably hungry).

After lunch we continued to roam the park.

Another thing about Disneyland is all the shops selling souvenirs allow you to play and photograph with whatever you want.

I effing heart those fluffy, cuddly stuffed toys but has zero intention of bringing them home. Hahaha.

Oh I nearly forgot to mention (told ya it's a messy piece of junk post!), of course one MUST NOT miss out the shows and performances in Disneyland. Totally worth spending time queuing for it!

I've missed out the Lion King performance 2 years ago so I was determined not to miss it this time round. And yes, I like all kinds of musical performances and think it's lovely!

It's not easy to snap a photo with all the dancers prancing up and down and twirling and twisting... This is the best I can do, not too lousy eh?

The Mickey Golden Awards is something I really love and highly recommended. If you enjoy Disney's animation as much as I do, you will love this. And be ready to be wowed by the nice stage effects, really awesome job!

It just make me want to sway and sing along watching them.

By the time we walked around, snapped some photos, watched some performances and tried some rides, the sky already dimmed and *poof* the castle lighted up and everything became extra magical :)

Yes, the fireworks that marked the finale of our magical day! It's really a bitch trying to take photos of the fireworks. My tripod is of no good use cos the crowd in front blocked everything. So I resorted to using my trembling hands and the cold, wet weather was of no help.

I kinda like this photo. Still remember they were playing Mulan's song that time.

See the sea of people with umbrellas in front of us? And somehow they love sticking their umbrellas up high to block our views :( Not easy to get a decent shot, and many turned out to be blurry or just ... wrong. Hahaha.

That's all from Disneyland. We dropped the idea of hanging out in Lan Kwai Fong cos the wet weather just made both of us lazy. Instead we wondered off to town, shopped a bit and went back to TsuenWan for dinner. More about food the next post :D